


Sweet Dreams Aren't Made Of This

by Winginblood



Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 11:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1119354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winginblood/pseuds/Winginblood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack is having trouble sleeping and Brian wants to know why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet Dreams Aren't Made Of This

Brian had to walk downstairs and all the way through their house before he found Zack. The French doors were wide open, letting the moonlight and cool ocean breeze fill the lounge, and he could see that Zack was in the swing seat out on the deck, legs tucked up underneath him. 

It wasn’t unusual for one or both of them to struggle to sleep on their return from an overseas leg of tour until the jetlag wore off and their bodies adjusted to being back in their home time zone but Brian knew this was different. It was the third night in a row that Zack had woken with a start and sat up in bed, breathing heavily for a moment before assuring Brian that he was okay and just needed some air. Something was bothering Zack, something he wouldn’t share, and Brian wasn’t happy to let that carry on. Zack being unhappy or upset wasn’t something that Brian found acceptable for very long. 

Brian picked up a blanket as he stepped over the threshold, the cool night air raising goose bumps on his bare arms and chest, and crossed the deck. He sat close to Zack and wrapped the blanket around their shoulders, pulling Zack close and kissing his temple. “Bad dreams, baby?”

Zack curled into Brian’s embrace, wrapping his arms around Brian’s waist and leaning his head on Brian’s shoulder. “Kinda. More weird I guess. Just...sorta...stuff messing with my head.”

“Tell me Zee. It might help.”

Zack shook his head. “No. It’s stupid. You won’t like it.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Brian shrugged and pulled Zack closer. “I read somewhere that dreams are either unacknowledged fantasies that you’re playing out or your mind trying to work shit out that you didn't process during the day. If we can figure out what it means then we can either fix what’s wrong or, as the saying goes, make your wildest dreams come true. Then it won’t have power over you any more and that’ll be the end of it. Waking up in the middle of the night every night like that sucks. And not in the good way.”

Zack smiled softly. “It’s really stupid.” 

“So is Matt’s hair but I got over it.”

Zack laughed. “He’s in it. We all are.”

“See now that wasn’t so difficult, was it? You might as well tell me the rest.” Brian was puzzled by Zack’s continued silence. They had shared so much over the years, dreams and hopes, ambitions, and as many fucked up as exciting experiences, that he simply didn’t understand the reluctance to tell him what the dream had involved. “C’mon Zee. It can’t be that bad.”

Zack sighed and lifted his head from Brian’s shoulder, meeting his eye for the first time since he’d sat down. “Alright. So it starts, like, in a forest. All huge trees and darkness. All I could really see or hear were eyes watching me and weird animal noises until I reach this clearing. And there’s this cottage there. And Matt and Johnny are inside. Except they don’t look like them but I just _know_ it’s them.”

Brian smiled, still not understanding why Zack hadn’t wanted to tell him this before. “So what do they look like? Monsters or demons or something?”

“No.” Zack paused again than closed his eyes and sighed. “Like Poppa Bear and Baby Bear.” 

Brian couldn’t help but laugh. “What, like from fairytales and shit?”

Zack’s head dropped. “I told you it was fucking stupid.”

“Aww, baby, no. I’m sorry.” Brian lifted his hand to Zack’s cheek, raising his head enough until he could give him a soft kiss. “I was just expecting something scary. But...but, I guess I can see how that would work. Y’know like Matt’s kinda grumpy and growly and Johnny’s just...small. Yeah, anyway, go on. Who was Momma Bear?”

Zack frowned. “I dunno. There was like three of things, three beds, three chairs, three bowls but she was just...not there any more.” 

“Okay. Well, if we were all in it, then I guess we know who Momma Bear was.” Brian smiled softly then pulled Zack’s head back down to his shoulder. His own head dropped to rest on Zack’s. “And I think he would have loved that.”

“If you say so.” Zack gave a short laugh. “I think he would have kicked my ass. But everyone else was there. Like the crew guys were like little elves and dwarves, fixing the roof, working in the garden. Y'know, doing helpful stuff. And Arin was like a wizard or magician. Making lots of noise and puffs of smoke and waving his wand around.”

“Cool. What about me? I was the handsome prince, right? With a mighty white steed and a sword and all ready to rescue maidens and stuff, yeah?”

“Umm, no. That...that was me.”

“Of course, yeah. Shoulda known that. Everyone is always the hero in their own dreams. So was I, like, your loyal Captain of the Guard? Or the best friend who saved your life and slew the dragon sorta guy?”

“Noooo. You...ah. No I don’t think there was anyone like that.”

Zack fell silent again, curling into Brian a little more and letting his fingertips trace light patterns on his side and dropping small kisses at the base of Brian’s neck. 

The silence carried on for a few moments but while Brian was enjoying Zack’s attentions he wasn’t letting himself be distracted by them. “Okay. So who was I then?”

Ignoring Brian’s question, Zack started to try and pull away from him. “Man, it’s getting late.” He faked a loud yawn. “We should be getting back to bed.”

Brian resisted letting Zack go and pulled him back to the seat. “After you tell me what happened. Was I the evil king or something? Did I fuck everyone up?”

“No! Fuck, no. Nothing like that.”

“So tell me.”

“Bri, please? It doesn’t matter. I don’t think dreams mean anything so let’s just drop it, yeah?”

Brian may have started out worried about what was upsetting Zack in his dream but now his evasiveness was annoying him instead. So far what Zack had described, while admittedly weird, was fairly innocuous. With the way Zack was behaving Brian could only assume that it had been the representation of _him_ in the dream that had startled Zack awake and made him reluctant to try to get back to sleep. “Of course it fucking means something. It means something to _you_. Everyone else fits with how they really are, kinda, so who the fuck was _I_ in this fucking dream?”

“Goldilocks.” Zack blurted out the answer. “Are you happy now? You were fucking Goldilocks.”

Brian could only stare at Zack for a moment. He stood suddenly and took Zack’s hand to lead him back into the house. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Dreams don’t mean shit.”


End file.
